Premium Essay

Telemedicine

Submitted By
Words 1588
Pages 7
An easy way to improve access to health care is by using technology. The advances in technology these days are amazing and incredibly helpful in the medical and health care field. These advances in technology can be linked to the fact that our life expectancy in the United States is increasing, along with many other good medical outcomes. There are many examples of technology that improves access to health care and quality of that care. Technology can be helpful to patients and providers. Any downfalls associated with technology and improving access to health care, do not outweigh the benefits that come from technology in health care. Technology has the ability to improve access to health care not only in the United States, but also on a global …show more content…
According to Nicholas M. Mohr, MD, MS, J. Priyanka Vakkalanka, ScM, Karisa K. Harland, PhD, MPH, Amanda Bell, MHA, Brain Skow, MD, Dan M. Shane, PhD, and Marcia M. Ward, PhD (2017), “telemedicine has been proposed as one strategy to improve local trauma care and decrease disparities between rural and urban trauma outcomes.” (p.1.) This study focused on an emergency room’s use of telemedicine in North Dakota. The type of telemedicine device used in the study was “a high-resolution video camera, microphone, and television [that] are installed in the trauma bay of the rural hospital, and a button on the wall initiates immediate consultation with providers in the hub.” (p.2) On this device you could also arrange an inter-hospital transfer. According to Nicholas M. Mohr et. al. (2017), the results and conclusions of this study are as follows. There were 7,500 trauma patients seen in an emergency room. Of those patients, “telemedicine was consulted for 11% of patients in telemedicine-capable EDs and 4% of total trauma patients.” (p.1) The use of telemedicine by itself was “associated with decreased initial ED length of stay for transferred patients.” (p.1) Telemedicine being available was attributed to an increase in transfers between hospitals. This is important because if one hospital is not equipped to help someone, they can quickly get them somewhere else. Refer to Figure 1 in …show more content…
K. Tripathi, & Peerapong Kitipawang (2015), that looked at a monitoring system for remote cardiac patients that used smart phones and sensors you could wear at home. “This study develops a remote monitoring diagnostic framework to detect underlying heart conditions in real-time which helps avoiding potential heart diseases and rehabilitation of the patients recovering from cardiac diseases.” (Kakria et. al. p.2) The purpose of the study was to give cardiac patients access to the newest health care services that they might not have had access to due to not having enough doctors for the patients in a particular area. (Kakria et. al. 2015) For this study, the patients would wear a monitoring system while they are at home that can do “real-time monitoring” (Kaktia et. al. p.2) and can measure certain things “such as heart rate, blood pressure, and body and skin temperature at the same time.” (Kakria et. al. p.2) These monitors also have alarms on them so the health care professional and the patient wearing the device are alerted when any values are out of the ordinary. The alarm mechanism helps diseases be detected earlier. This improves quality of care because health problems such as hypertension, hypotension, arrhythmias, and fever can be detected sooner and from home. Therefore, these problems can be taken care of earlier. This is especially

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Respiratory

...more dropping off written scripts, great! 3. Message Stream provides health organizations to securely share patient information such as lab results, medications, and immunization records. 2. What is the difference between Telehealth and Telemedicine? a. Telehealth- is the delivery of health –related services and information via telecommunications technologies. b. Telemedicine – the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. 3. List various types of Telemedicine and briefly explain 3 of them. a. Telepharmacy- the reason why they come up with this program is because there was a shortage of pharmacists to review prescriptions. They are now sold with cameras so that the pharmacists can approve from any location. b. Telepsychiatry – this type of telepsychiatry is equivalent to face-to-face psychiatry of most patients. You can get individual or group therapy, second opinions and medication reconciliation. c. E-Mail Teleconsultation - this is the army form of teleconsultation service for any one of the military service for deployed military clinicians, this is a web e-mail communication this service is offered 24 hrs 7 days a week. 4. Identify and briefly explain 2 Telemedicine projects. a. Informatics for Diabetes Education and...

Words: 395 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Business Case Study

...op yo rP os t NA0186 A Telemedicine Opportunity or a Distraction? Janis L. Gogan, Bentley University Monica J. Garfield, Bentley University S hawn Farrell, Executive Director of the Partners TeleStroke program, glanced at his smart phone while striding toward his office at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston; he nearly collided with Lee Schwamm, MD. Knowing that Dr. Schwamm’s overfull schedule as Vice Chairman of Neurology and Director of Acute Stroke and TeleStroke Services meant he had little time to chat, Farrell used the near-collision as an opportunity to quickly mention a recent conversation with a nurse from Falmouth Hospital on Cape Cod. An active participant in the TeleStroke service, Falmouth Hospital was regularly honored for its adherence to best practices in stroke care. “Recently some Falmouth nurses asked how we can convince other MGH departments—such as in critical-care pediatrics—to provide similar telemedicine consultation services,” Farrell stated, adding “Their nurse stroke coordinator, Jean Estes, is a huge cheerleader for TeleStroke.” Dr. Schwamm continued moving toward his office as he replied, No tC Shawn, don’t we already have too much to do? I need to see patients, complete the analysis for a study I am working on, submit a grant application. Next week I will speak at an international neurology conference. Telemedicine can certainly be invaluable in many clinical domains, but there just are not enough...

Words: 9194 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

Hsa 510

...determine how that access (or lack thereof) impacts your community economically. For people living in the rural areas, the distance to main metropolitan centres often places restrictions on access to essential services, including specialist healthcare. Telemedicine provides one possible answer. Many different terms such as telehealth, telecare, online health and E-health have been used but they all have a common meaning, i.e. the use of information and communication technologies to deliver health care services at a distance. The motivation for investigating the use of telemedicine for different clinical problems include large distances between patients and specialists, isolated health professionals requiring specialist support and/or education, and situations where there is no other alternative, for example space flight or patients at sea, as well as the pervasive and pragmatic issue of cost. Are health care dollars better spent on sending the clinician to the patient, bringing the patient to the clinician, or by facilitating the consultations using telemedicine? Modern advances in information communication technologies have seen developments in the different mechanisms available for conducting telemedicine, from Morse code to the ordinary telephone and more recently the Internet. The different telecommunication networks required to support these communication technologies have also advanced. The plain old telephone system (POTS) is widely available in both...

Words: 1325 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Telemedicine

...Convenience. Telemedicine eases the problem of not being able to get a doctor appointment into and already busy schedule. Through video, Web chat, or phone, people can follow-up on a prescription or diagnosis with a physician they've been seeing for years as long as that physician indeed provides tele health services which in turn makes that needed doctor visit more attainable doctor visit. Less time in the waiting room. We've all flipped through the same year-old issue of Us or People while waiting our turn to see our primary care physician or dentist. Telemedicine eliminates this process, taking a couple of minutes to register and put your health history in without having to wait and waste more time when you can be productive until you video chat with the doctor. Cost-efficiency an increasing number of doctors are charging less for a telemedicine consultation than they would for an in-person visit. Telemedicine can also reduce travel expenses, even for myself I drive across town to see my doctor and there have been a few times that I have had to leave once arriving because of an unforeseen event. This is especially true for those living in rural communities. Rural families who would normally travel hours out of their way to access key health services can do it from the comfort of their couch. This is also very fitting for my parents and younger siblings right now they are 20 or more miles from the closest clinic and 30 or more for the nearest hospital. Expedited transmission...

Words: 560 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Telemedicine

...Telemedicine in India: Initiatives and Perspective B.S.Bedi Senior Director Department of Information Technology Ministry of Communications & IT Government of India eHealth 2003: Addressing the Digital Divide-17th Oct. 2003 What is Telemedicine? • Telemedicine is the use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates the participants … Institute of Medicine, 1996 Introduction • Telemedicine primarily refers to use of Telecommunication for diagnosis and treatment of disease • Emergent mode of delivery of health care at distance • Telemedicine provides healthcare where there is none and improves the health care where there is some • One way to bring / provide access to quality health care to under-served rural & urban masses Telemedicine: India’s Option or Necessity • India characterized by low penetration of healthcare services • 90% of secondary & tertiary healthcare facilities in cities and towns away from rural India where 68% of population lives • Primary health care facilities for rural population highly inadequate • Despite several initiatives by Government & private sector the rural and remote areas continue to suffer from absence of quality healthcare • Significant proportion of patients in remote locations could be successfully managed locally with advice/ guidance from specialists/ super-specialists in cities, without having to travel to the specialists. • Key driver of public:private...

Words: 1155 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Telemedicine

...February 22, 2015 Telemedicine: A New Era of Health Care As healthcare evolves and enters a new era, we are faced with consumer demands for care, reduction of costs, increase in quality services, and customer satisfaction. Innovation is on the horizon. 58% of Americans indicated that increased funding for medical and health research is essential for their future health and economic prosperity, and 63% expressed their willingness to pay a modest amount in additional taxes to fund medical research (Shi, 2012. p168). Leading to the evolution and fast growing pace of telemedicine. For the purpose of my essay, I am going to focus on telemedicine. The term or product "telemedicine" is defined as distance medicine; it employs the use of telecommunications technology for medical diagnosis and patient care when distance separates the provider and client. It eliminates the requirement for face-to-face contact between the examining physician and the patient. It enables a generalist to consult a specialist when a patient's illness and diagnosis are complete (Shi, 2012). To meet the current and future demands of health care, telemedicine has been growing over the past years becoming a paradigm of medicine. Through the evolution of this model, we have enhanced the ability to reach out to patients. Accessibility, cost containment, and efficiency appear to be the top drivers. By focusing on wellness, disease management, prevention, servicing the underserved communities telemedicine intends to reduce...

Words: 1543 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Telemedicine

...Americans. Some believe the answers lies with telemedicine/telehealth due to the increasing power of information technology and broadband. Telemedicine includes a variety of application and services using two-way video, e-mail, wireless phones and other forms of telecommunication technology. This service was started forty years ago with hospitals extending care to patients in remote areas; this use has spread rapidly and is now becoming integrated into the operations of hospitals specialty department, home health agencies, private physician office and consumers home (American Telemedicine Association, n.d.). Telemedicine and telehealth are considered interchangeable terms, incorporating a wide definition of remote healthcare patient consultation through videoconferencing, transmitting of still images, e-health, remote monitoring of vital signs, continuing medical education, consumer-focused wireless application and nursing call center are part of telemedicine and telehealth (American Telemedicine Association, n.d.). Telehealth refers to a broader definition of remote health care that does not always involve clinical services. Telehealth is in partnership with the term health information technology (HIT); which is commonly refer to electronic medical records and other related information systems and other non-clinical services such as medical education, administration and research. Telemedicine refers to the actual delivery of health services...

Words: 257 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Telemedicine

...................................................... Keynote presentation Q Telemedicine support for the developing world Richard Wootton Centre for Online Health, University of Queensland, Australia Summary Telemedicine has been used for some years in the industrialized world, albeit with rather mixed success. There is also a considerable literature on the potential use of telemedicine for the developing world. However, there are few reports of the actual use of telemedicine there. A review identified five telemedicine networks providing second opinions; each network had been in operation for over five years. Although they have different aims and methods of operation, they exhibit some common features. In particular, none of them appear to be dealing with markedly increasing referral rates. Rough calculations suggest that only about 0.1% of the potential telemedicine demand from the developing world is being met. Possible reasons include the referrers being too busy and a perceived loss of control. If this analysis is correct, then the right strategy for future telemedicine in developing countries will be to concentrate on the construction of within-country networks that demonstrably alter health outcomes, can be shown to be cost-effective and sustainable, and will provide a model for other countries to copy. .............................................................. Telemedicine has been used in the industrialized world for some years, albeit with rather patchy...

Words: 4021 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Telemedicine

...208 | September 23, 2014 AN EMERGING TECHNOLGY OF THE 21TH CENTURY AN EMERGING TECHNOLGY OF THE 21TH CENTURY TELEMEDICINE Telemedicine is defined by the telemedicine information exchange (1997)1 as the use of electronic signals to transfer medical data( photographs, x-rays images , audio, patient record, video conferences, etc.) from one site to another via the internet, intranet, PCs, satellite or video conferencing telephone equipment in order to improve access to healthcare. Telemedicine began in the early 1960’s when the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) first carried out manned exploration of the outer space. Physiological measurements of the astronauts were telemeter from both the spacecraft and the space suits during NASA space flights. These early effort were enhanced by the development of satellite technology which for-steered the development of telemedicine.  In developed and developing countries telemedicine offers a reduced cost solution to delivering remote care when and where it is needed without the building and staffing added facilities. Telemedicine allows local practitioners to consult with their peers and with clinical experts when needed. Telemedicine further allows them to participate in grand rounds and education opportunities they would not normally have access to without travel and time away from their patients. Telemedicine offer services like primary care and specialist referral services, remote patient monitoring, consumer medical...

Words: 513 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Telemedicine

...Running Head: Telemedicine 1 Telemedicine Nancy Hicks HCS/320 Teresa Shook Telemedicine 2 New technology in health care arises every day. One of the most important things that needs to be addressed is how well the communication works with the new technology. Communication is a vital part of health care, whether it be between patients and provider or the staff and provider. Mis-communication can cause serious injury and possible death of a patient. A type of the new technology that is starting to catch on in a lot of states is Telemedicine. Telemedicine has the ability to provide interactive health-care between patients and physicians. Telemedicine can be used a couple of different ways. One way is that the patient and physicians are able to speak with each other live over video feed for immediate care, this is called real-time, and is the most common form used. It also gives the patient the option to speak with the physician or physicians as a video/still image, or store and forward, with the video/still image use patients records are stored and then later viewed by the physicians for diagnoses and/or follow-up care, this usually happens when both health-care providers are not available at the same time (What Is Telemedicine?, n.d.). There are some benefits or advantages to using telemedicine in receiving treatment for his/her health care needs. The patient and the provider actually speaks with the...

Words: 858 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Telemedicine

...Telemedicine according to Shi & Singh (2015, p.108) came about “the 1990s, with technological advancement in distant transmission of image data and the recognition that there was inequitable access to medical care in rural America” is sought to levy for federal funding to create telemedicine projects for electronic health visit (e-Visit) that has since then becomes the understanding of telemedicine for health care information and services offered over the internet for electronic medical record (EMR) that enable the online processing of patients information for health services as to the alternative of going to doctor office for patient intake . Therefore, telemedicine is the remote use of telecommunication for a virtual visit. Although telemedicine eliminates face-to-face for physical contact, however , the engineering for telemedicine for consultation include “videotelephony” such as iPhone or iPad and “videoconferencing” such as a laptop or a personal computer with webcam applications and other specialized health devices with “robotic operation” etc. According to the America Telemedicine Association (2013), “telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status....

Words: 497 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Telemedicine Proposal

...Chapter Proposal Title: Mobile Telemedicine Systems for Remote Patient’s Chronic Wound Monitoring Mission and Major Concerns: This chapter describes the implementation of a telemedicine system for patient’s chronic wound monitoring using smart phone. Smart phone has been recognized as a possible tool for telemedicine. In fact, the mobile telephony has been providing a lot of offers new devices with some useful resources like serial ports and Internet connections. This system proved to be quick and reliable. Chronic wounds have become a big challenge in medical health care problem globally. The skin is an incredible organ often known as "the largest organ of the human body" as it stretches throughout all the body parts. A wound is defined...

Words: 1079 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Telemedicine Research Paper

...Potential benefits of telemedicine Telemedicine has tremendous potential and we’re just beginning to delve into its realm of possibilities. It is a natural digital evolution of a mostly unchanged method of health care delivery. Although it is in the very early stages of development and research, the concept has been floating around for over half a century (Stanberry 2000). However, in recent years, due to advancement of technological innovations in health, communication, and a massive influx in data-driven services, there has been a further push for rapid developments for a commercially viable product (Stanberry 2000; Bauer 2001). Some of the major benefits are listed below. Improved access One of the main advantages of telemedicine is diminishing geographical constraints for patients. Patients have the advantage of speaking to a health professional from the comfort of their homes through their phones, laptops, or any other telecommunication device (Bauer 2001). Patients from remote locations can access quality health care facilities without the need to travel long distances. In addition to circumventing commute costs and in turn saving time, it is also very convenient to schedule regular check-ins in accordance to the patient’s own schedule. Access to telemedicine would also mean doctors can diagnose patients without them ever coming close to vicinity of a hospital. This is especially helpful for those with non-life threatening...

Words: 441 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Telemedicine Practice Essay

...According to the American Telemedicine Association, the relatively new remote medicine field has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. Most home health agencies, hospitals, primary care providers, and specialists utilize some form of telehealth technology, while continue to strive toward building a legal foundation. Health care organizations and insurers view telemedicine as a welcome alternative to time-consuming and costly office visits, and consumers increasingly accept telemedicine as a norm. Furthermore, the technology allows consumers to connect with providers conveniently using such as mobile phones and tablets. However, telemedicine practitioners currently rely on laws design for traditional settings. The following topics review a few of the concerns affecting telemedicine providers. Patient Privacy and Confidentiality With telemedicine, care providers can store...

Words: 827 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Telemedicine Research Paper

...What is Telemedicine?     The wait is over, the solution is here! No more seating in cold waiting rooms staring at the clock scrutinizing the second hand which to you appears to deliberately linger an extra minute at every passing second. The solution is telemedicine or digital health, which is essentially the use of technology (like telephones and laptops) by healthcare professionals to provide health care to patients both far and near. According to research millions of people across the world spend hours waiting to see a doctor for an appointment of just twenty minutes. Telemedicine has proven to be very advantageous to both healthcare professionals and patients. It provides better and faster communication as patients only need to message, email, skype or phone their doctor to seek medical advice. Additionally, telemedicine has been shown to be very efficient as it provides better management of chronic diseases, and it allows patients to be more aware of their problem and so diseases are treated sooner before they worsen. In addition, it makes it easier and more convenient for patients to stay healthy and engage in their healthcare. It also allows shared health professional staffing especially in places were specialist professionals are few. The most remarkable thing about telemedicine is that it brings care to people in rural area, it also allows physicians and health...

Words: 713 - Pages: 3